1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, comprising a vehicle longitudinal axis, at least one first vehicle component which is supported via at least one first spring device on at least one first wheel unit and which is supported via at least one second spring device on at least one second wheel unit which is set apart from the first wheel unit in the direction of the vehicle longitudinal axis, and at least one first anti-roll device and a second anti-roll device which are coupled to one another via a coupling device, which are each connected to the first vehicle component and which each counteract rolling motions of the first vehicle component about a roll axis parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
In rail vehicles—but also in other vehicles—the body is generally mounted resiliently adverse to the wheel units, for example pairs of wheels or sets of wheels, via one or more levels of suspension. The centrifugal acceleration which occurs when traveling around a bend and acts transversely to the traveling motion and thus transversely to the vehicle longitudinal axis causes, owing to the comparatively high center of gravity of the body, the tendency of the body to bend outward adverse to the wheel units and therefore to perform a rolling motion about a roll axis parallel to the vehicle longitudinal axis.
On the one hand, rolling motions of this type are, above specific limit values, detrimental to driver comfort. On the other hand, they entail the risk of infringement of the admissible clearance profile and unloading of the wheels on one side in a manner which is inadmissible from the point of view of preventing derailing. In order to prevent this, anti-roll devices in the form of what are known as roll stabilizers are used. The purpose of these devices is to resist the rolling motion of the body in order to reduce it without impeding the rising and falling motions of the body relative to the wheel units.
Roll stabilizers of this type are known in various hydraulically or purely mechanically acting embodiments. Use is often made of a torsion shaft which extends transversely to the vehicle longitudinal direction and is known, for example, from EP 1 075 407 B1. Non-rotationally attached levers which extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction are located on this torsion shaft on either side of the vehicle longitudinal axis. These levers are, in turn, connected to links or the like which are arranged kinematically parallel to the spring devices of the vehicle. When the spring devices of the vehicle yield resiliently, the levers located on the torsion shaft are made to rotate via the links connected thereto.
If, when traveling around a bend, a rolling motion occurs with different spring paths of the spring devices on the two sides of the vehicle, this gives rise to different rotational angles of the levers located on the torsion shaft. The torsion shaft is accordingly subjected to a torsional moment which—depending on the torsional stiffness of the shaft—is compensated for at a specific torsional angle by a counter-moment resulting from the elastic deformation of the shaft and thus prevents further rolling motion. In the case of rail vehicles equipped with bogies, the anti-roll device can, on the one hand, be provided for the secondary level of suspension, i.e. act as a first vehicle component between a undercarriage frame and the body. On the other hand, the anti-roll device can also be used in the primary level, i.e. act as a first vehicle component between the wheel units and a undercarriage frame.
Although these isolated roll stabilizers lead to the desired increase in the roll stiffness of the arrangement of the whole, i.e. to a sufficiently low coefficient of inclination of the body, they comprise the drawback that, when traveling on sections of track in which the track plane winds, such as occurs for example in track superelevation ramps or the like, the track planes, which are now inclined toward one another, in the region of the two wheel units cause a high torsional moment to be introduced into the first vehicle component, i.e. the body or the undercarriage frame. This is due to the fact that the respective anti-roll device acts on a setting of the first vehicle component running perpendicularly to the track normal which is in each case provided in the region of the wheel units. As the track normals in the region of the wheel units comprise a differing orientation when the track plane winds, the described torsional loading of the first vehicle component is obtained. In addition to marked stressing of the first vehicle component, the unloading of individual wheels associated therewith can increase the risk of derailing.
In other words, there is a conflict of interests between, on the one hand, a low rolling coefficient or high roll stiffness and, on the other hand, low loading or low torsional stiffness of the first vehicle component and sufficient prevention of derailing of the vehicle.
In order to solve this conflict of interests, a coupling of the individual anti-roll devices is known from DE 28 39 904 C2. In this solution, the anti-roll devices are configured in a hydraulic embodiment. The anti-roll devices each have two working cylinders which act on two sides and the active volumes of which are connected in opposite directions. The anti-roll devices are coupled as a result of the fact that the active volumes of the working cylinders, which are located on one side of the vehicle, of the two anti-roll devices are joined together in the same direction via pipelines.
Apart from the basically undesirable fact that this solution uses a hydraulic installation which is prone to leakage, a significant flow resistance, which substantially reduces the operation and thus the advantage of the arrangement, occurs in the long pipelines between the anti-roll devices at both ends of the carriage.
Similar problems with elevated torsional loads when traveling through sections of track in which the track plane winds also occur in multiple-unit vehicles in which rolling motions between adjacent bodies are prevented via anti-roll devices, in many cases simple transverse links, running transversely to the vehicle longitudinal axis.